Dunlop A Player and Prince Woodie, $2 apiece. The Dunlop is near mint and the receipt shows that it was owned by a prominent Womens junior player from the 1970s. The Dunlop has a head reminiscent of a PK.

Dunlop A Player and Prince Woodie, $2 apiece. The Dunlop is near mint and the receipt shows that it was owned by a prominent Womens junior player from the 1970s. The Dunlop has a head reminiscent of a PK.

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Waow, Really nice find ...I did not have all that much luck lately, but will take my last find, a PK Fiber Ace for a spin tomorrow morning, if the weather plays along!

I have managed to stay OUT of the GoodWill store when I drop things off. For those who know about the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas a few weeks back, I've been helping our downsizing efforts by sending needed clothing, tools and utensils up to the site. I haven't touched my racket collection since posting about our downsizing efforts. It would take something darned special for me to ADD to the collection at this time .

I reckon I'll live vicariously through the exploits of you veteran and newer collectors, throwing in my two cents from time to time !

Today I hit the Motherload.....!!!
During my regular visit to the local thrift store I was looking for a cooler box and, since the last 3 visits were very disappointing racquet wise, I only leasurely took a glimps at the sports section. At first it looked like there was nothing there but the usual stack of old alloy's and toy racquets but then my eye caught the unmistakeable red color that belonged to a Prestige Classic. My heart skipped a beat and as I homed in on it I recognized the same colorscheme in the corner of my left eye and saw not 1 but a total of 3 Prestige Classic's. Two were Czech made and one was an original Austrian made Classic 600. One Czech was broken in the top but had nice capped grommets and dito grip. The other two were in used but good condition with some scuffs on the grommets. Since the one was damaged beyond repair they gave it to me for free. The other two were $4.00 a piece. As soon as I got home I exchanged the grommets and now they are waiting to be strung........What a rush.!!

Today I hit the Motherload.....!!!
During my regular visit to the local thrift store I was looking for a cooler box and, since the last 3 visits were very disappointing racquet wise, I only leasurely took a glimps at the sports section. At first it looked like there was nothing there but the usual stack of old alloy's and toy racquets but then my eye caught the unmistakeable red color that belonged to a Prestige Classic. My heart skipped a beat and as I homed in on it I recognized the same colorscheme in the corner of my left eye and saw not 1 but a total of 3 Prestige Classic's. Two were Czech made and one was an original Austrian made Classic 600. One Czech was broken in the top but had nice capped grommets and dito grip. The other two were in used but good condition with some scuffs on the grommets. Since the one was damaged beyond repair they gave it to me for free. The other two were $4.00 a piece. As soon as I got home I exchanged the grommets and now they are waiting to be strung........What a rush.!!

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I continue to visit my local thrift shops on a regular basis hoping the hit the very exact stash you have found.

Very, very jealous I am.

In all of my tennis travels I still have never owned or even hit with a PC 600

I live in the *******. You guys are SO extremely fortunate to be at places where tennis gets played year-round/more regularly/more intensively.

All I've found in the main were junk metal department store frames; chiefly bent to the right. My two lucky finds, over many years, were a pristine Stan Smith woodie unstrung and a banged up Pro Kennex Bronze Ace.

I'm no collector and have no notion of what to do with the Smith; the PK is fun for chasing around with my son.

I live in the *******. You guys are SO extremely fortunate to be at places where tennis gets played year-round/more regularly/more intensively.

All I've found in the main were junk metal department store frames; chiefly bent to the right. My two lucky finds, over many years, were a pristine Stan Smith woodie unstrung and a banged up Pro Kennex Bronze Ace.

I'm no collector and have no notion of what to do with the Smith; the PK is fun for chasing around with my son.

Was hasty yesterday and picked up a POG OS 4 stripe for $3.20 only to find when I got it home that there is a slight crack in it. Bummer.

Last week I picked up a Pro Kennex Graphite Destiny in about an 8.5 condition for $12 that I have yet to hit with. Maybe tonight.

I have had better luck at used sports stores as of late picking up both a Head Radical Tour Trisys 260 and an Austrian Pro Tour 280, both for quite reasonable prices. I hit with the Radical and it wasn't my cup of tea so it has moved on. I'll be hitting with the 280 this week. I think the sub 330 swing weight is more in my ballpark than the Radical Tour.

Ok my best finds to date:
half a dozen MAX200G's for $5 regularly sell E Bay for $25 and if in top condition $70.
Adidas GTX PRO T sold $160
Snauwaert Hi Ten 50 kept but these sell for $250
Weed II
Chris 5 star blue sold $60
and then you can add stuff bought on E Bay and local markets which are resold....
One item bought $25 sold $500+

Plus of course heaps of woodies/ steel, graphite that have appeal...

All this effort goes to creating a budget to buy stuff I really want..........

My friends that played in high school have always bugged me to start playing, and I finally took the plunge a few weeks ago and started checking out local thrift shops for a cheap racket.

Dunlop McEnroe Competitor ($1.30 at Goodwill), and a Prince Power Pro 110 ($5 at a random antique store in VT). They both obviously need new grips, but they play pretty well! I think I ended up spending more on a few cans of balls than I did the rackets.

My friends that played in high school have always bugged me to start playing, and I finally took the plunge a few weeks ago and started checking out local thrift shops for a cheap racket.

Dunlop McEnroe Competitor ($1.30 at Goodwill), and a Prince Power Pro 110 ($5 at a random antique store in VT). They both obviously need new grips, but they play pretty well! I think I ended up spending more on a few cans of balls than I did the rackets.

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That is an interesting find at an antique store. I have had some nice finds in Goodwill stores in the Burlington area.

I could post an "almost" here. I found what I thought was a nice Graphite Pro for 2$ but then I noticed a pretty substantial crack in the throat, so no luck there. Time though to scour the county for old frames!

That is an interesting find at an antique store. I have had some nice finds in Goodwill stores in the Burlington area.

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You have no clue, this place was huge and bizarre. I didn't think the building was ever going to end. It's somewhere in the northern part of Bennington, I think. Also found a still of Strother Martin in Slap Shot. "Reggie, you see this quarter? It used to be a nickel!"

I ran into that racquet! At a Sally Ann in the ******* in the late 1990s, for a buck, and passed it by. Kind of wish I'd snagged it, but heck, these kinds of things always end up stuck in closets or in the basement.

Like so many of the Euro designed egg/keystone shaped rackets of the day, hitting a touch low in the face is key. Otherwise, the flutter of hitting too high will make you think you've got a wood stick in your hand. Don't trust that original grip if you sweat...that gray/ghost white leather was slick as glass!

Contrast that with the Dominator series...actually designed to encourage hitting high in the frame(a la Head Director). The composite will have a fair bit of flex while the Graphite Dom was a touch stiffer(similar to the Head Gr. Dir vs the Comp Dir).